2011 Organic Kumamoto Jo Shincha

Due to conflicting reports about possible radiation levels in the 2011 crop from Shizuoka Prefecture, I decided to forgo Shizuoka-grown Shincha this year. I also wanted to try shinchas offered by other vendors - I hvae been buying my Japanese teas mostly from Yuuki-cha -, especially kinari shincha from Maiko but unfortunately most of the teas offered are not organic.  So I went back to Yuuki-Cha again and got the Kumamoto Jo Shincha, a Chumushi (medium steamed) shincha from the old traditional town of Yabe in Kumamoto Prefecture. What attracted me to try this tea was the price ($12/100g) and the tea being medium steamed that I've never had before.  

The tea is made from standard Yabukita tea plant cultivar and Tsuyuhikari, a hybrid of 'Asatsuyu' and 'Shizu7132'. I eyeballed everything; the tea, the water temperature and the brew time. While the tea was  good and refreshing, it tasted a little bit to mellow to my taste. I am guessing partly because I didn't brew it as I normally do when I try a new tea by following the steeping methods provided by the vendor - which I will do next time I prepare this tea again. 

Tea and Sunset

Evenings have been warmer than usual lately which made me a happy camper when we went to the beach to enjoy sunset this evening.  Well, we were not really on the beach, but on our usual spot on the cliff that was close enough to the ocean.  Watching sunset over the Pacific Ocean is something that both of us love to do since we moved here almost a decade ago. And we do this a lot!    

I brought with us a pitcher of cold brew organic Kagoshima Saemidori sencha that I forgot to pack while running errands earlier today. I prepared the tea before I went to bed last night - something that I often do on the warm days, left it in the fridge overnight and planed to drink it throughout the day. It was a good thing that I forgot to drink it during the day. This cold, refreshing and naturally sweet drink was much better enjoyed while watching beautiful sunset on this perfect spot anyway. 

2010 Handmade Rou Gui Wuyi Yancha

Delicious Yancha from The Essence of Tea: "This completely handmade Rou Gui comes from 60 -80 year old trees, growing deep within the Wuyi Scenice reserve (ZhengYan). The leaves have been completely handprocessed and given 2 charocal roasts."

After short seven steeps, left the tea in the gaiwan for the night with a little water, then brew it again the next day - longer steeps this time. 

Today's Matcha

was Sakuraka in Chris Chaney's Pink Shino chawan. I love the pleasant aroma that comes out from the chawan every time I prepare this matcha. 

Gao Shan Jinxuan Oolong from Tea Masters

Setelah menikmati matcha pada pagi hari (ritual yang tidak pernah terlewatkan jika tidak sedang berpergian), dan satu sesi Moonlight White pu-erh setelah makan siang, sore hari menjadi oolong time. Pilihan jatuh ke Goa Shan Jinxuan oolong.  Stephane dari Tea Masters  menyisipkan sekantong kecil sample oolong ini dalam order saya tahun lalu. Teh ini berasal dari Lu Shan di Taiwan dan dipanen pada tanggal 26 Oktober 2010.

Seperti halnya oolong yang berasal dari Gao Shan (aka oolong dari pegunungan tinggi di Taiwan), daun kering oolong dari Lu Shan ini bentuknya meringkel, dengan tingkat oksidasi yang ringan.  Sepertinya oolong ini melewati proses roasting yang tidak terlalu lama karena aroma roastednya tercium secara samar-samar saja

Aslinya, air teh seduhan berwarna kuning jernih dan lebih tua dari warna seduhan yang terlihat di foto-foto dalam halaman ini dan tidak sepucat warna seduhan difoto.  Rasanya manis,  ringan dan fresh. 

Hari minggu yang menyenangkan! 

Moonlight White from Bana Tea Company

2007 vintage from last spring harvest

Raw pu'erh, Grade 1

Production area: Xishuangbanna Prefecture, Yunnan Province
Vendor: Bana Tea Company
Taste characteristics from the Bana Tea's website: "This tea is produced using a special technique wherein the leaves are dried at night, allowing a slight amount of oxidation. The result is a peach-yellow colored tea that exudes a mellow nectarine flavor. The aroma permeates the room as the tea is brewed and the taste is very pleasing, particularly in the morning or afternoon."

3rd infusion

6th infusion 

Assam Orthodox SFTGFOP

Vendor: Natureal Tea

2nd Flush 2009 from single estate in Upper Assam

An 8 Oz package was sent to me by Natureal Tea last year. Hadn't gotten a chance to try it until today, partly because I don't drink black tea as often as I used to do. For today brew, I used a 100 ml gaiwan instead of a regular western-style pot. As I am not a big fan of a strong tea, I steeped the leaf less than 1 minute, a lot shorter than the brewing time suggested by the vendor. 

I loved the color of the brew and was pleasantly surprised by the malty taste. It was smooth-tasting liquor and had good body. Delicious. 

Organic Tenryucha Shincha

Fukamushi shincha 

Varietal: 100% Yabukita

Origin: Tenryu, Shizuoka

This deep steamed shincha was from the 2010 season. I went overboard in ordering shincha last year and quickly realized that I couldn't use it up as planned. Even if I drank shincha every day! So I decided to store some of them in the fridge for later consumption by placing unopened bags in a pyrex container, then wrapped the pyrex tightly in a thick dark colored kitchen towel. I am pleased to find that my shincha hold up well so far.

Today I brewed the tea by eyeballing everything; the water temperature, the brewing time and the weight of the dry leaf. The first steep produced a mild and smooth taste note with a light umami. But we liked the taste of the second brew the most. The sweet and distinct umami flavor of the second brew put a big smile on my and my husband's face. We continued brewing this tea until it completely lost its kick by the fifth brew. 

Some information about this tea (from Yuuki-Cha website): Tenryucha is an organic deep steamed (fukamushi) sencha that is high grown in a secluded mountainous area of the famous Tenryu tea growing district of Shizuoka. The mountains of Tenryu are blessed with a beautiful environment, pure water, rich soil, plenty of sunshine and deep mist. These elements are vital for producing quality organic sencha, therefore, a number of Shizuoka organic tea farmers ply their trade in Tenryu. Just as vital is formulating compost that will supply the tea bushes with sufficient nutrition. The farmer of this organic sencha has put a great deal of time and effort into formulating compost that really brings out a nice approachable flavor in his tea.


The leaf has been deep steamed (fukamushi sencha), but not on the heavy side, it maintains good appearance. The tea liquor is an attractive light-green to lime-green color which is the norm for high grown organic Yabukita that has been carefully deep steamed, and sun-grown without the use of chemical fertilizers. 

2003 Raw Wild Puerh - Tea Masters

This tea was delicious! Loved the aroma of the dried leaves -  smelled a little bit like medjool dates. After a quick rinse, the tea was brewed in a 100 ml gaiwan, shorter steep. The light amber color of the brew was also pretty.

Vendor: Tea Masters

Origin: Yiwu, Yunnan

Harvest year: Spring 2003

Tea on the road - Monterey

While I miss my morning matcha ritual, I am still able to enjoy a descent cup of sencha. Sitting on the porch of our hotel room overlooking Del Monte Golf Course in Monterey, I am currently sipping organic sencha Okuyutaka from Yuuki-Cha, brewed directly in Nakahara hagi cup using the finum brewing basket. No kyusu, scale or thermometer (the later I rarely use any way); just eyedballed the leaves and used hot water from the hotel's club lounge for a quick steep. 

New Year - New Teas

Started the new year with organic matcha from Den's Tea (Saemidori varietal from Nishio, Aichi, first flush). It was creamy, smooth and delicious. 

Matcha in "In Praise of Shadows" chawan by D. Michael Coffee

Shortly after that enjoyed a pot of French Breakfast Tea from Mariage Freres, bought at their store while in Paris last October but had left unopened in our tea cupboard until today.   

French Breakfast

Oriental beauty from Floating Tea Leaves after lunch. I liked its roasted and honey flavor. 

Oriental Beauty